Top journalism students from 18 universities will investigate water pollution and its impact on health in the U.S. as part of the 2017 Carnegie-Knight News21 national multimedia reporting initiative.

Headquartered at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, News21 was established by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to demonstrate that college journalism students can produce innovative, in-depth multimedia projects on a national scale.

Twenty students from journalism programs across the U.S., as well as Canada and Ireland, will join 10 Cronkite students for the 2017 investigation. They will examine the major issues surrounding water pollution, including contamination sources, legislation, enforcement and health implications.

The students have already begun work. They are participating in a spring semester seminar where they are researching water issues, interviewing experts and beginning their reporting. The seminar is taught in person and via video conference by Leonard Downie Jr., the former executive editor of The Washington Post and Cronkite’s Weil Family Professor of Journalism, and News21 Executive Editor Jacquee Petchel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former senior editor for investigations and enterprise at the Houston Chronicle.

Students will hear from such guest speakers as Bob Woodward and Jeff Leen of The Washington Post as well as Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Jenny Rempel of the Community Water Center in California’s Central Valley.

“We chose the safety of drinking water as the 2017 News21 investigative project topic because, after the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, we discovered that the water consumed by millions of Americans across the country comes from groundwater variously contaminated by lead, industrial waste and chemicals, and agricultural runoff and animal waste,” Downie said. “Too many community water systems and private wells are antiquated and poorly maintained – and government regulators are unable to keep up.”

Following the seminar, students move into paid summer fellowships, during which they work out of a newsroom at the Cronkite School and travel across the country to report and produce their stories.

“In addition to water safety issues, we will be examining how water contamination and safety problems affect people in disadvantaged communities, remote communities and places where the issue is sometimes overlooked or ignored,” said Petchel, who directs the summer reporting effort. “The advantage of a national investigation is that we’ll be investigating the topic in every state and reaching out to people everywhere, as well as examining state and national data.”

Previous Carnegie-Knight News21 projects have spotlighted issues ranging from food safety and gun rights and regulations to veterans’ issues and voting rights. The student work is published at news21.com and by dozens of news organizations, including The Washington Post, USA Today, NBCnews.com and the Center for Public Integrity.

Cronkite fellows will be named later this semester. This year’s participating universities and their fellows are:

ASU’s Cronkite School

American University’s School of Communication: Jordan Houston

Dublin City University’s School of Communications (Ireland): Fionnuala O'Leary and Amy Molloy

Elon University’s School of Communications: Bryan Anderson

George Washington’s University School of Media and Public Affairs: Elissa Nunez

University of Alabama’s Department of Journalism and Creative Media: Bryn Caswell

University of British Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism (Canada): Lauren Kaljur

University of North Texas’s Mayborn School of Journalism: Alexis Reese

University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication: Macee Beheler, Elizabeth Sims and Bekah York

University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism: Rachel Ramos

University of Tennessee’s School of Journalism & Electronic Media: Bliss Zechman

University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism: Jackie Wang

Individual students are funded by their universities and by individual donors, foundations and news organizations. The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation supports fellows from the University of Oklahoma and ASU and the Hearst Foundations and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation support ASU fellows. Knight Foundation supports American University and USC fellows; The Dallas Morning News supports the University of North Texas fellow; John and Patty Williams support the University of Tennessee fellow; Louis A. “Chip” Weil supports an ASU fellow; and the International Ireland Funds supports a Dublin City University fellow.

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. The Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change.

Carnegie Corporation of New York: The Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential American grant-making foundations. The foundation makes grants to promote international peace and to advance education and knowledge.

Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation: The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, headquartered in Oklahoma City, was founded by Edith Kinney Gaylord, the daughter of Daily Oklahoman Publisher E.K. Gaylord. Ms. Gaylord created the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in 1982 to improve the quality of journalism by supporting research and creative projects that promote excellence and foster high ethical standards in journalism.

Hearst Foundations: Publisher and philanthropist William Randolph Hearst founded The Hearst Foundation Inc. in 1945. Three years later, he established the California Charities Foundation, which was renamed the William Randolph Hearst Foundation in 1951. Today the foundations operate as a single entity under the name the Hearst Foundations and function as private philanthropic organizations independent of The Hearst Corporation. The foundations’ funding priorities include the fields of education, health, culture and social service.

Donald W. Reynolds Foundation: The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, it has committed more than $115 million nationwide through its Journalism Program.

Louis A. “Chip” Weil: Weil served as president and chief executive officer for Central Newspaper Inc., which owned The Arizona Republic. Prior to becoming CEO, he was president and publisher of the Detroit News and publisher of Time magazine. Weil and his wife Daryl established the Weil Family Professorship at the Cronkite School.

The Miami Foundation: Established in 1967, The Miami Foundation uses civic leadership, community investment and philanthropy to improve the quality of life for everyone who calls greater Miami home. For 50 years, the foundation has partnered with individuals, families and corporations who have created more than 1,000 personalized, philanthropic funds. Thanks to them, the foundation has awarded over $250 million in grants and currently manages $285 million in assets.